The Mayor's Mixtape

The Mayor's Mixtape-Episode 33

• City of Pueblo

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The 33rd episode of the Mayor's Mixtape covers development in the City of Pueblo. What does the future of the Convergys building look like? The City of Pueblo is open for business for a Buc-ees! What are the plans for the dog track on the south side of town? What are the next steps for the Dillon Drive project? There are many moving parts and new developments happening all across town, Mayor Graham gives insight to each project and what is on the horizon. 

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Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay, welcome to the 33rd episode of the Mayor's Mixtape. I'm Haley Sue Robinson, Director of Public Affairs for the City of Pueblo.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

And I'm Heather Graham, City of Pueblo Mayor.

Haley Sue Robinson:

And don't forget, you can find this podcast on Apple, Spotify, BuzzSprout, YouTube, also on Local Channel 17. Wherever you get your podcasts, like, share, subscribe, and you can submit your topics or suggestions, uh questions to mayor @pueblo.us. Um and let us know what you want to talk about or what you want us to cover. Uh Mayor, we had a late night at City Council last night on a Tuesday instead of a Monday. Um and it seemed like last night's discussion, uh, a lot of it had to do with development in the city. Um I think to start off, we'll start with the uh Circle K. Um and we had a couple, we had a resolution and an ordinance. Um but let's first start with the Converges property and the Circle K um development. Um this is a development site that you first brought forward in April. April, early spring. That's correct. So tell us a little bit about this project.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah, so obviously everybody knows the Converges or what used to be Converges across from Bessemer Park. Um it's a huge eyesore for the community. It's burned, the roof is half missing now. Um, but we were contacted by a third-party developer who wanted to come in um and potentially purchase the property. They were looking for some kind of partnership because they don't want the whole property. Okay. They just want the front part of the property that butts up to Northern. Um, so they approached the city in April. Um, we've had to work through some contractual agreements since then. And so in April I took this project to City Council after meeting with each of the city councillors about the project um and using the city's demo funds um and ARPA dollars to help incentivize this business that was gonna be coming into this property. And in return for those dollars that we were um willing to give, they were going to grant us 1.2 acres um of the property. So the whole backside of the property. And our plan was to develop it and use it as an affordable housing site.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Um so we don't have an end user. Um we we have nothing past the part of demoing it and having a piece of property there so that um multifamily or uh some workforce housing could potentially go up. It is in a TIFF district.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Um, which makes it even more appealing for a developer to come in. And the specific developer is Circle K. Um, it's not just your normal Circle K gas station. Um, it's one that also has a small market attached to it. We continuously hear about the food desert in that area, and so we thought that this would be a great project, public-private project, um, using some demo dollars and some ARPA interest dollars to incentivize the developer to come in, which is Circle K, and also to get a large blighted building down in the middle of Bessemer.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Sure. And I know um last night there were some photos shown. There's been some fires, then there's been a lot of vandalism. It it seems like the property if if you aren't paying attention, it's a nuisance. Yeah. Um and so it kind of solves a couple of of issues of A um having the property developed and a new business going in, and then to your point, um allowing more access to food, besides just gas station food, because I think there is a good distinction between that. Um a lot of folks are like, hey, gas stations are not good healthy food. And I think for the most part we would agree with that, but it sounds like it's more it's

Mayor, Heather Graham:

it's a little bit more than just a gas.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Like market, some grab and grow go items and maybe some essentials that could help the community. And then um the the demo uh would allow us to incentivize a developer to put in workforce housing or some sort of housing development on the back side. Great. Okay. Um and so we've been working on this project for quite some time. Right?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Many months. So when I brought a city council the first time, they told me, which they forgot, they told me it was very clear last night, to come back. They voted it down the first time. Sure. Um it was multitude of projects that were all wrapped in one. So not only was this large demo, there was four houses, one in each of the districts. One of these houses specifically, which I find ironic, is uh 1310 West Route, which is the house that everybody wants downright. And so um, you know, hindsight, I guess if city council would have approved those funds to knock all four of these houses down in the converges property, we probably still wouldn't be dealing with the route property, but nevertheless, here we are.

Haley Sue Robinson:

I think I misunderstood. So those four homes plus the converges site also would have been demoed?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yes.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Is that what's being brought forward in this one?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Nope. So city council votes it down, says come back when you have when you want to share the plan and the developer. So here we are with the plan and the developer. Um we're gonna have a work session on it on Monday. Okay. Um so that they can get their questions answered um on this project, and hopefully um, we can move this project forward. Um the funds that are going to be used on this project were remaining demo dollars and accounts um going all the way back from 2014. So uh closing some accounts. Every year we set aside demolition funds, whether they come from the general fund or CDBG funding. Um, those projects are allocated at a cost that we think it's gonna cost. Some of these accounts had, you know, 10,000, whatever. And so we went through in the budget process and and realized that there was an opportunity to um put all these funds together and do a cool project.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay. Great.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

And here we are. So City Council will be seeing this resolution and ordinance again on first reading um October 27th.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay. So we'll hear uh work session presentation October 20th, uh this coming Monday, then uh first presentation on the 27th, which means second reading in November. Yeah. Okay. All right. Um we did have a couple pieces of good news last night, uh, mayor, as far as development goes. Uh City Council did approve a resolution to um support Buc-ees coming to Pueblo. Um so I wanted to talk a little bit about that. I mean, we did have our director of public works, Andrew Hayes, he did a KRDO um interview a couple weeks ago, and a couple of folks just said, hey, you know, that's great that you talk to the news, but are you talking to Buc-ees or what are we gonna do about it? Yeah. And so um it seems like this is kind of an opportunity of, hey, this is what we're gonna do about it. We've heard a lot of

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Pueblo's open for business.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Yeah, we've heard a lot about um Palmer Lake and and that discussion and um what Buc-ees looks like or doesn't look like up there. And so there were a couple communities, us included, that said, hey, we'd love to have Buc-ees. Um and now this resolution says, hey, we we actually might be serious.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

I think I got I think we got seven votes.

Haley Sue Robinson:

We did. It was seven to zero, which was really exciting.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Can you imagine?

Haley Sue Robinson:

I know. Um, so let's let's talk about um where potentially Buc-ees could live in Pueblo.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Um what are some options?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

I think that you know they want uh uh heavy trafficked corridor, so somewhere around 50 and I-25.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Sure.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Um, or maybe fifty in the boulevard. Or I-25 in the boulevard, sorry. Um, which would be two locations that if you typically look where they kind of set up shop, that's what it looks like.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Yeah. Um have you ever been to Buc-ees?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

I have not been to Buc-ees.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay. Um we do have a lot of folks um here at the city in City Hall, you in Pueblo who really like Buc-ees. I like the beaver nuggets. Um they also have really good beef jerky.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Okay.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Just saying. Yeah. So I think it could be exciting. So it's uh an exciting step forward to see maybe Pueblo will be home of the new Buc-ees.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Maybe.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Cool. At least we have something now though. Um, when we approach Buc-ees or Buc-ees comes to us, we can say, hey, um, we really are serious about it. It's not just all talk.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Cool. Agreed. Great. Um, okay, so also speaking of good news, towards the end of the night, like I said, it was uh it was a late night. We um had a developer from the Dillon Drive project and our partners from PURA, um uh the Public Urban Renewal Authority who presented the plan. Can you talk a little bit about um what that Dillon Drive plan has been? And

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Sure. So, you know, Dillon, the Dillon Drive Urban Renewal Plan is obviously on Dillon, butts up to the Fountain Creek, and then on the other side butts up to Colorado Tire, Clayton Homes, I-25, and so that property was in a floodplain. Um some fantastic developers who have developed many hotel properties within our community, outside of our community, um, took over the land. Okay, um, dumped millions and millions of dollars worth of dirt to pull that up out of a floodplain. I think last night we heard they have 12 pads that are available for development.

Haley Sue Robinson:

That's amazing.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Several LOIs have been signed, um, they're awaiting building permits. Um but last night was kind of the you know the the end of their planning phase, being able to get the renewal plan um put into place to do the public infrastructure. So streets, sidewalks, um those those public improvements um that you can use TIF dollars to do. So that was super exciting. Um then it was and another seven zero. I mean, I can't even I can't.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Well, and and we had a lot of folks in the room too. I mean, um you know, we heard from community members, we heard from the developer themselves, we heard from your urban renewal. Um it really in my opinion, it looked like this is truly what good partnership looks like. Yeah um from the private side with uh developers who, to be perfectly honest, like you said, put millions of dollars into something. Yeah. I I remember when the dirt first started moving, we got so many calls here to the mayor's office. Hey, what what's happening over kind of by the mall? What's happening over by Walmart? What are they doing over there? Um because for I mean, as long as we have been alive, as long as most people have been alive, it's just been

Mayor, Heather Graham:

stagnant.

Haley Sue Robinson:

A floodplain area, and I don't think anyone ever really imagined that that would be an area that they would develop or would have businesses. So it's exciting. Yeah.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Um so then moving forward, what what does it look like? So they're actively working on putting the infrastructure in the ground, putting the building building permits. So um, you know, now that the plan has been approved by city council, I'll sign it today.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Um and they'll be well on their way to developing the area. So great. Looking forward to several new businesses uh popping up in that area.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Great. That's super exciting. Yeah. I um I think it'll be great for that that corridor and um just an exciting time to see so many new businesses coming to Pueblo.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah, totally.

Haley Sue Robinson:

And lots of investment. Um okay, another another piece that actually was approved last night as well, um by Slim Margins, uh four to three, was the the dog track um demo. So so for folks who maybe are not familiar with this property, um, this is over off of Pueblo Boulevard. Um and it's been an eyesore for

Mayor, Heather Graham:

many years.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Pueblo for a a really long time. So talk to us a little bit about this project and what it looks like.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

So how this, you know, how this started is when I first became the mayor, I had um been in a couple meetings with the owners of this piece of property. They were looking for half-cent sales tax dollars to help developed. They came to the Urban Renewal Authority, um, they were turned down over and over and over. And so, um uh maybe I don't know, six months ago, um myself and the previous executive director were having a meeting and we were talking about some funding that they had in the Minnequa Lake TIFF district. Okay, and that their board had previously set aside $216,000 to do blight removal. And um I thought that it would be a good partnership between the city, um, the developers, and the Urban Renewal Authority because I knew that they were trying to get this building down. Um, the amount of code violations it has, um, it's caught fire, it's it's it's pretty gruesome. Um we decided to see if we could form, you know, a partnership between the three of us in order to help get this property down. So City again has unused ARPA interests. We have a little over $700,000 in our ARPA interest account. And so I put this proposal together um to go in front of City Council to use $216,000 from the authority, um, $284,000 from the city, and then I think $250,000 from the developer themselves in order to get this building down, private public partnership, um, so that they could start moving dirt, um, putting up something that's going to be impactful to the community. They have plans for hotels, multifamily, uh, commercial retail. Um, it's a great location, it's right off I-25, it's a prime piece of property. Yeah. Um, but they want to know if the community's invested in them. These developers are not from the city. Okay. Uh, but they purchased the property, um, they're willing to invest, but they want to know that the community also um wants them here um and that we want to see something happen. So this is another one of those buildings, you know, when you're driving around the community, you're saying, geez, like when when's someone gonna do something about that? And so here we are, you know, trying to do something about it. It did pass 4-3. Um, hopefully it sticks. You know, I think one of the council people actually messed up their vote.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Oh, really?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah. Um, so hopefully it doesn't revert back. Okay. 3-4. Um, I think that this is really positive to the community, really positive to that district, that council person's district. Um, and so hopefully we can get these this demo done, get the building down and and see some economic development um come in that area.

Haley Sue Robinson:

And uh talk a little bit about um exactly uh how this then benefits the community. Because I think a lot of folks are confused that if we invest this money that all of a sudden we just we spent this money and we lost it and it could be.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

We do this all the time, right? So let me tell you about a specific building in the City of Pueblo, right, that cost the taxpayers $900,000 to take down. So if anybody remembers the Albany church that was burned, you know, very badly. The city

Haley Sue Robinson:

You could see it from I-25.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah, the city does not own this property, right? But you had businesses within this community who were continuously calling. I want this property down, I want this property down. One of the businesses is actually President Aliff works for Vidmar Motor Company, you know, was a continuous call from the owners.

Haley Sue Robinson:

That's really close.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Um the school that was right in the area. Hey, we need this property down. When is the city going to do something, right? Very similar situation to the dog track and converges. So the city takes on the project, right? We we remove it. Um the Albany Church, we've spent $900,000 to get that church down. Yeah. The city will place a lien or try to place a lien on the property, but the reality is that the property only appraises that like $30,000, right? So we've now spent $900,000 of taxpayer funds to only receive $30,000 in an appraised piece of property on the backside. So when we're talking about investment and how we should be investing the city's dollars, um, investing in properties like Converges and properties like the dog track, um, they are just as much of an eyesore um as a burned down building.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Right.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Um but these two properties have a chance to create some economic activity, right? Hotels, restaurants, commercial development, um, the Converges property, multifamily housing,

Haley Sue Robinson:

Sure,

Mayor, Heather Graham:

a small market. Um, and so when we're talking about spending taxpayer dollars and getting an ROI return on investment, this makes sense to me to spend so we'll demo funds generate sales because you're gonna generate money back to it, right?

Haley Sue Robinson:

I understand.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Also, when we talk about the businesses who are unhappy with these two pieces of property. Um, I think Counselor Flores mentioned last night the the people across um the streets at the hotels, um, there's you know continuous unwanted parties.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Sure.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Um, the buildings on fire, there's glass broken everywhere.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Well, the calls for service, yeah.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah, calls for service out of control. It is a very similar situation to the Albany.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Sure.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Um, but hopefully, you know, city council will will see that and remember that when they go to vote on uh the Convergers building again, and hopefully the vote sticks, the 4-3 sticks with uh the dog track because these properties need to come down. This is what the community is asking for. Um, and I think all all around it's a good project for everybody involved.

Haley Sue Robinson:

And uh the developer last night, he also mentioned that the property that he owns is 18 acres. So

Mayor, Heather Graham:

huge.

Haley Sue Robinson:

I mean, you mentioned a couple of projects, so this isn't just um kind of like a one-off thing. There could be lots of development in that area, um, which is pretty exciting because of you know its proximity to I-25.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah, the jobs that it would create, right? I mean, city council last night approved essentially a blank check for eight million dollars to put um wastewater improvements and stormwater improvements in the ground just up the road um in the industrial park for businesses who may or may not be coming to the community. Um, so I mean eight million dollars to five hundred thousand dollars. Um, you know, I think that you have to look at what you get for the eight million, sure, what you could potentially get for assisting a developer with the five hundred thousand, which will actually just be two eighty-four to the city and then two sixteen to the urban renewal authority. But I think that this is a great opportunity. And I hope city council continues to feel the same way.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Cool. So uh a lot of progress um being made towards development or or a commitment, I would say, at least, to what the future of development looks like in Pueblo. Um, like you mentioned, Pueblo's open for business. And it seemed like last night was um an opportunity to really solidify that, um, whether that's true or not.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah, I mean it's true when it comes out of this office. Um I can't say the same for city council, but I can say that the mayor's office is open for economic development, and we're gonna do everything in our power to make sure that people still want to come to Pueblo. Um developers still want to invest here, and we can still have this public-private partnership as they do in every other community in the world, um, besides Pueblo. So um we're gonna keep pushing forward.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Great.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay. Um anything else about city council?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Oh, I was wondering if you want to talk about the roofs.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Did you want to talk about the roofs?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

I want to talk about the roofs because I think it's important for the community to know about the the roof situation here at the City of Pueblo. So last night, a continuation from six weeks ago um uh four roofs for the wastewater plant.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Yeah, the treatment center.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yep, and then which includes the lab, the lab, uh-huh, very important stuff. The la uh the lab and then the ice arena roof, um, which actually we had a source of claim, so we have insurance that is going to be paying for the damage um where the Bulls play.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Right? Lots of economic development going over in that area too. And then the wastewater plant, which really um, I mean, what is gonna happen when we don't have roofs over our facilities out there that need to be replaced? And so we took uh we took these roofs to City Council. City Council six weeks ago said that they needed additional time to do research as of yesterday morning at 7 a.m. I had not heard, and neither had any of my directors from city council about the additional research that they wanted. Um, they actually had us hire a third party consultant, um, and we had to pay additional funds for that third party to come in and review the specs of the roofs that we put out. Of course, the consultant concurred with the city and our process. Um, and then we took to city council last night and they voted all of these projects down again. So costing the taxpayers additional funds, um, right? And they said to tarp the roofs at the wastewater facility. So, what does that mean for a taxpayer? That's kind of scary, right? Because you have equipment in there that needs to be covered. We have leaky roofs, water leaking all over this equipment, and in the long run, it's gonna end up costing the taxpayers additional funds, as it did cost the taxpayers additional funding to hire a third party consultant to come in and tell the city what we already know. Well, we already know. So, you know, I'm real I I'm not sure what's gonna happen with this whole roofing situation.

Haley Sue Robinson:

What what are the next steps?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

I don't know. I I didn't get any guidance from city council on what they wanted to see besides tarp the buildings.

Haley Sue Robinson:

If we if we were to restart the RFP process and go out to bid again, what does the timeline look like for that?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Well, we would post it again for you know 21 to 30 days, we would have the pre-bid walkthrough. Okay. Um we don't want to rip the roofs off in the middle of winter, right? That's why we had it on the agenda six weeks ago. And so these roofs probably wouldn't be done to the springtime, so you're um potentially costing more money to the taxpayers um to the city by postponing projects like this. Um, all because I guess that they don't agree with the city's procurement and purchasing process, um, which was just another red flag, right? I read off 11 different roofs last night that the city council has approved since 2023. Seven of those roofs has have been approved since I've been the mayor. Um several of those roofs we used the same type of roofing material that were in question um last night. So I think that that's a bit of a conflict of interest. Um, but you heard you heard that spiel last night in the um ethics complaint that I filed against Councilwoman Maestri. So I'm not really sure what council's plan is and how we're gonna um handle these roofs moving forward. I mean, obviously the administration doesn't want to cost the taxpayers any more dollars, so we're gonna have to come up with a plan to bring back to city council. Um waste more time, waste more money. It's just kind of the battle we've been fighting lately.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Thanks for the deep dive into the roofing.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Stay tuned for the roofing saga in the City of Pueblo. Yes.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Okay. I'm not sure what to say. I'm not sure what to say to that one.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

I know as many people at the city are speechless today. We'll get through it though.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Yeah, we will.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

We always do.

Haley Sue Robinson:

We will. Absolutely.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

You want to talk about upcoming events?

Haley Sue Robinson:

Let's let's talk uh, let's make a pivot to something uh a little happier. Sure. So we have some upcoming events. Uh this weekend, uh haunted rides at City Park and the Trunk-or-treat uh at the Kiddy Rides. So Friday from five to eight, all the kids get to dress up in their costumes and ride the rides, do a trunk-or-treat, and then they do that again actually on Saturday as well, and that is from two to eight. We also will be busy on Saturday. We have the cleanup. Yes. Um three sites, CSU Pueblo, Colorado State Fairgrounds, and Recycle Works. That is from eight to three. So uh bring your household trash, your mattresses, your broken sofa, stuff in your garage that's been sitting there for way too long. Um whatever whatever stuff you need to get rid of, as long as it's not electronics or hazardous waste, we will get rid of it. Um But we do have the the third site at Recycle Works for green waste, so like branches, unbagged um branches or like grass, things like that. Um and we'll get people through the lines quickly, which is exciting, but uh we'll get the city cleaned up. And then let's see, what else do we have? Uh oh, trunk-or-treat at El Centro next uh Saturday, October 25th.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yep.

Haley Sue Robinson:

And that's from four to seven. And we are actually accepting candy for both the haunted rides and the trunk-or-treat. You can take that to parks or El Centro. And then we're gonna have trick or treating at City Hall on Halloween.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah, so previously sometimes we would do the um the um in the in the garage, what do we call it?

Haley Sue Robinson:

Oh, we did trunk or treat with uh the police department. Yeah, we did that for years.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

So we're going to combine and have several city departments here at City hall, we're going to have a bus, a haunted bus.

Haley Sue Robinson:

We're kind of doing like a like a touch a truck type of thing in the uh city parking lot. So we'll have uh one of our buses, that'll be like a haunted bus. But then we'll have um a fire truck, we'll have one of our street sweepers, um, I think we might even get one of our wastewater factor trucks, which is really cool.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Um

Mayor, Heather Graham:

the bear cat.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Oh, and then we'll have a bear cat from the police department. Yeah, so we'll have uh we'll have all of that out in the parking lot for the kids to see and ask questions and talk to our city departments and find out about their jobs while they're all dressed up for Halloween.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yeah.

Haley Sue Robinson:

And then come into City Hall and go trick-or-treating.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yep.

Haley Sue Robinson:

So we did that last year, which was a lot of fun, but um I think it's gonna be even better this year. I think it's a huge city hall. We're very excited. Yeah, it's open to everyone. Uh two to four and bring your costume, have a great time, come celebrate us Halloween with us at City Hall.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yep.

Haley Sue Robinson:

So lots of exciting things going on.

Mayor, Heather Graham:

Yep.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Uh any other upcoming events?

Mayor, Heather Graham:

I think you covered them.

Haley Sue Robinson:

Great. Okay. Cool. Um well then, we will see everyone next week. But if you want to suggest a topic or question, you can email us mayor@ pueblo.us. You can find our podcast on Apple, YouTube, Spotify, Buzz Sprout, and um local channel seventeen. And we will see you next week. Thanks for listening.